Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb said today that as he takes the reins back from Michael Vick, who has put up 52 points in six quarters in relief of Kolb, he can't worry about public opinion.

"All I can do is deal with what's on the field ... that's me getting out there. I'm anxious to get back on the field Wednesday for practice. It starts there, and then going and getting a win against Jacksonville," Kolb said today. "I think if I just stay focused on those things and just play my game, we'll be fine."

Asked about the support he has gotten from Eagles coach Andy Reid and even from Vick as he returns from a concussion suffered in the opener, Kolb said: "I appreciate it, but I've got to go prove it, too."

"I appreciate the words Mike has said," Kolb said. "I'm proud of him and proud of the team. I thought they did a heckuva job (in Detroit)."

Kolb said Reid is "a trustworthy guy" who "does what's right for the team always."

Reid made it clear after Vick's stunning performance in a 35-32 victory Sunday at Detroit that Kolb will start this week (pending no further problems, of course.) Kolb said he started to feel better last Wednesday, and steadily improved until he was cleared fully on Saturday.

Kolb said he passed concussion tests on the sideline after his face was driven into the turf by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews -- following a finger with his eyes, remembering and repeating things -- but he felt sluggish and slow when he returned to action, forgetting the snap count, for example. He said he thought he was OK "until I got back on the field, and things started moving fast."

He said teammates went to head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder and told Burkholder Kolb wasn't right.

This has been an amazing first couple of weeks, with Vick, an afterthought to most fans when the season began, stealing leaguewide headlines. Outside Philly, most pundits seem puzzled that Reid would consider going back to Kolb, the fourth-year QB who ascended to the top spot when the team traded Donovan McNabb to Washington in April.

"I didn't imagine myself being off the field, first," Kolb said, when asked if he ever could have imagined a scenario like this one. "But that's something I have no handle over. But yeah, I have faith in Mike. I think everybody does. He's a great athlete and a great talent and he's got a step back. We could both see it every day (in the offseason) when we were working out. i knew when I went down there wasn't going to be an issue with him picking it up and rolling with it."

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To read our earlier post from today and also to see Paul Domowitch's report card and cast your vote, click here.